


you're just like mars (you shine in the sky)

by citadelofswords



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Fake Marriage, M/M, The Penumbra Minibang, and cecil being cecil, how many of peter's identities can i squeeze into one fic, juno's self-confidence is through the roof but he's still a brooding hero, more specifically a kanagawa au, not really I guess, rita as always is the best of us, some canon-typical but nongraphic violence, welcome back to completely throwing out all canon for the sake of a what-if scenario, you don't even have to have listened to past murderous mask for this one tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-10-22 01:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17653601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citadelofswords/pseuds/citadelofswords
Summary: If you had asked the Juno Steel of five years ago what his future had in store for him, he would not have said the mob. The Kanagawa wedding was a distant memory then; Croesus had beaten the shit out of him for only saving half of Cecil and the only friend he had left in that family was Cassandra, who he barely spoke to. Juno was as happy as he could be, he was engaged, and he was working his way through the ranks of the HCPD, all the way to DI.The way it fell apart was so quick, so like dominoes falling, that Juno felt he had a right to think that it all had been scripted in order to put him in the right state of mind when Min came knocking on his door to tell him Croesus was dead.or, juno steel's ten step guide to tricking your demons into turning away and then stabbing them in the back, or, "how i learned to stop worrying and run for the hills"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> behold. in all its glory. the legendary kanagawa au. FINALLY, FINALLY being posted. after SO LONG. thanks to the penumbra minibang for the excuse to actually finish the damn thing and pine for the ART. SUCH GOOD ART.
> 
> title from 27 by fall out boy.

Weddings, in Juno’s humble opinion, were entirely overrated. They were bright, they were flashy, they were entirely too expensive, and there was always a camera watching your every move. At a Kanagawa wedding, all of that was tripled.

Juno had been to a Kanagawa wedding before— he’d been invited to Min and Croesus’s, back in the day, when he was an upstart rookie police officer and Cassandra was about fifteen. At that wedding he’d been allowed to sit in a pew in a black tux and blend into the thousands of other audience members lucky enough to witness the occasion live. He’d even been allowed a plus one.

Those were the good old days.

Six years later and Croesus was dead, Juno’s plus one was somewhere else, Cassandra was in prison, and Juno was the one getting married. Min was the same. Cecil had a new arm and half their face had been reconstructed, but other than that they were the same. The crowd was three times larger than it had been for the last wedding Juno had attended. Juno was in gold. His soon-to-be spouse was waiting outside.

Juno had no idea who they would be.

“Smile,” Min whispered, not unkindly, in his ear. “This is the biggest day you’ll ever have in your entire life.”

 _Unlikely_ , Juno scoffed, in his head, but he forced his face to relax at least a little bit.

Cecil’s face was split ear to ear in a huge grin, but Juno knew he was disappointed that there was going to be no bloodbath at this wedding. There’d be a bloodbath afterwards, at some point, but Cecil had no way of knowing that. Cecil had no way of knowing Juno’s plan.

Juno folded his arms across his chest. Five Cameramen swung towards him. He dropped his arms again and clasped his hands behind his back.

The doors to the amphitheater opened.

The figure in question was at least two hundred meters away, which meant Juno had absolutely no idea who he was marrying, still, even though they were literally right in front of him. The organist started up a droning tune which would have fit better at a funeral than a wedding. Juno could hear Min tense behind him, without even needing to turn around. Post-production, he thought. They can always edit it in post-production.

Then he remembered this was live.

 

* * *

 

If you had asked the Juno Steel of five years ago what his future had in store for him, he would not have said the mob. The Kanagawa wedding was a distant memory then; Croesus had beaten the shit out of him for only saving half of Cecil and the only friend he had left in that family was Cassandra, who he barely spoke to. Juno was as happy as he could be, he was engaged, and he was working his way through the ranks of the HCPD, all the way to DI.

The way it fell apart was so quick, so like dominoes falling, that Juno felt he had a right to think that it all had been scripted in order to put him in the right state of mind when Min came knocking on his door to tell him Croesus was dead.

 

* * *

 

At fifty feet Juno finally got a clear image of the person— his fiance— his soon to be _husband_ , he supposed. The man was tall with cheekbones you could probably cut a diamond on and dark eyes you could drown in. His lip curled around teeth that looked a little pointier than teeth usually were. His eyes traveled up and down Juno’s body, and the Cameramen were loving him. Perfect. Exactly what Juno needed.

He stepped up onto the dais next to Juno and smiled at him. Juno, remembering his place, smiled back, a little hesitantly. Their eyes locked and held on.

The man was wearing a mask.

Not a literal one, that would have been ridiculous, even for the Kanagawas. But Juno could see the distance in his eyes, how he had detached himself from the situation. Made it easier for what was to come next, he supposed.

The ceremony started. Juno tuned most of it out; since it was all scripted, he’d already done the rehearsals, and there were no actual vows to speak of. This was a political alliance, and nothing more.

He said his piece in a monotone, and then the officiator (an enthusiastic young bodyguard who Min had hand-picked to have the speaking role in the stream) moved on to the “to have and to holds” which made Juno tune back in.

“Do you, Valentin Clay, take Cai Kanagawa to be your wife.”

“Oh, I do,” purred Valentin (what kind of fucking name was Valentin) with a sidelong glance at Juno.

“Do you, Cai Kanagawa, take Valentin Clay to be your husband?”

 _Seems I have no choice_ , Juno thought. Aloud he said, “I do.”

There was confetti. There was shouting and cheering and screaming. Juno did not hear what the officiator said next, but he got an idea when a gloved hand rested on his cheek, turning his face to look Valentin directly in the eyes.

 _You may now kiss the bride_ , Juno thought, and Valentin kissed him.

Juno almost staggered. _Stick to the plan_ , he thought desperately, but Valentin’s kiss was the kind of kiss that made him weak at the knees and falter in his resolve. It was the kind of kiss worth throwing away four years of work for. Juno was distantly aware of Cecil yelling happily— always a sucker for a good show, Cecil was— but he paid it no mind as Valentin pulled away.

The edge of Valentin’s gaze was soft, a little vulnerable, but it shuttered again just as quickly as Juno caught it.

Most of the Cameramen crawled away, up the walls to get aerial shots of the guests as the paperwork part happened. Juno knew there would be a massive party that he would be expected to make an appearance at, so he and Valentin could have their first dance as a couple. For the moment, that didn’t matter. He shelved those thoughts to focus on the signing of the marriage certificate.

 

* * *

 

If there was only one thing Juno Steel knew more about than the bottom of a bottle of whiskey it was law. He knew every loophole in every legality and he knew which ones should be closed and which ones should be exploited at every possible opportunity.

And Mars had a funny little law about legal documents and handwriting. Specifically, the document had to be signed in the person’s own hand.

This led to a lot of debate and discussion about cybernetics and hands that had been donated and the subsections of the law dictated what to do in those cases but there was one loophole, Juno knew, which had never been caught, and had never been closed. And that was on the subject of the signer’s non-dominant hand.

If there was one skill Juno Steel had that could in any way match up to his sharpshooting, it was his ability to write near flawlessly with his right hand. He had signed almost every legal document with his right hand since joining the Kanagawa family, and then swapped the important ones later with ones signed with his left hand. Min had never bothered to check his HCPD file before he’d joined the family, which was how Juno had managed to keep that hand for so long.

Juno Steel signed the marriage license with his right hand, and smiled as Valentin did the same.

The plan was officially in motion.

 

* * *

 

The reception was a lavish affair. Juno swapped his bride’s gold for a dress of deep midnight which Cecil had picked out specially for the occasion. He was required to have his first dance with Valentin Clay, which was probably some leftover custom from Old Earth, and to cut the wedding cake, which was definitely just Cecil wanting some quality footage of Juno making a fool of himself with a knife.

For now, though, he was safe, hiding on an upper balcony above the party, looking down on it from above.

Only about a tenth of the guests invited to the ceremony had also been invited to the reception. Juno had managed to snag an invitation for Rita, under an assumed name and under the condition that she wouldn’t interact with him for the entire party. It was worth it to see her down in the throng of people, in a dress of blinding pink, charming her way through the crowd; she may not work for him anymore, but Juno still wanted to give her a fun night off if he could.

There was an old clock down the hall blinking the time at him. Close to midnight. This wasn’t a rabbit’s tale, not by any stretch of the imagination, but Juno still wanted to flee and leave his mechanical leg behind. Just to see if Valentin Clay searched all through the city for the lady it belonged to.

Too late now, though. Juno spotted Clay on another balcony, off to his right, and Clay seemed to spot him at the same time. For the second time, Juno’s resolve slipped— he could go find the paperwork and replace it, couldn’t he? With paperwork signed with the correct hand? It might even be easier, he thought, to have a partner at his side when he took over the Family. Or to take the Family from him, so he could go back to his original anonymity.

No. Clay smiled, and it looked almost genuine, but Juno had been burned by too many people who had claimed to wear their hearts on their sleeves like that. It was better for Juno and for Hyperion City that he do this alone.

Oh shit he was coming over. Juno almost managed to quit the internal monologue before Clay was there, in close proximity for the first time since they got married. Also, alone with him, for the first time since they’d met.

Not really alone. The entire party was downstairs. Goddamnit he was monologuing again.

“Cai,” Clay said. “I think it’s time to make our grand entrance, hmm?”

He offered his arm. Juno sighed and took it. “If we must.”

Clay laughed. “I believe we must, my dear,” he said, and pulled Juno away from his hiding spot.

 

* * *

 

Juno liked dancing well enough, but he was ninety-five percent sure that if he watched back his first dance with Valentin Clay he would pass out. Not because he’d felt like a bad dancer, but because he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what the expressions on the audience’s faces had been.

If they were anything like the look on Valentin’s face had been, well, Rita would be in fucking _raptures_. And, honestly, she probably had been.

(He definitely wanted to watch back the video of Valentin cutting the cake. He’d kill to relive the look on the chef’s face as Valentin drew his own knife to make the first cut.)

Afterwards Juno made a big show of stumbling upstairs, tugging Clay after him and shooing the Cameramen away to bring them both into his rooms. They’d been fully decked out in candles, rose petals, and a couple devices that Juno was sure were Cecil’s backwards way of telling him to use protection.

Clay eyed one warily. “Are these torture devices or chastity breakers?”

“With Cecil, it’s honestly hard to tell.” Juno kicked the coffee table in his sitting room, sliding the table leg neatly over one of the bugs he knew was there. When he looked back up, Clay was looking at him with what could have passed for an expression of startled delight in anyone else’s eyes.

“What have I married into?” Clay bemoaned, overdramatic, and stepped closer. “I hope you won’t treat me so _roughly_ as that, dearest.”

Juno caught another whiff of Clay’s cologne and hesitated for a moment. He almost, almost went with his gut and let Clay approach, let him kiss him again and sweep him into a whirlwind night of consummating a marriage that wasn’t real, but for once in his life Juno was going to do the right thing and walk away from the pretty face.

Even if it was a really, _really_ pretty face.

“You should know,” Juno said, and took a step back. “It wasn’t legal.”

Clay paused in his approach and lifted one perfect eyebrow. “I don’t follow, my dear.”

“The license,” Juno said, and felt the smirk creep across his face despite himself. “I signed it with the wrong hand. It isn’t legally binding.”

Clay looked at Juno and Juno stared him right back down. Aside from minute crinkling at the corners of his eyes, there was no change in the mask of Clay’s face. “Well,” Clay said. “That complicates matters, somewhat.”

“I have my own plans for this family,” Juno said, eyes narrowing. “They involved getting in Mother’s good graces by forming this alliance. No one ever said I had to make it legally binding.”

“You married me live in front of a thousand person audience,” Clay said. “We were seen dancing together at the reception; I guarantee there are four of your Cameramen outside this suite as we speak.”

“Nope,” Juno said brightly. “I’m a notoriously private person, and Min doesn’t like me stealing Cecil’s spotlight anyway. We were broadcast live, and I have my own series to bring in more ratings for her since Cass is in Hoosegow, but aside from that I’m only seen on stream when I bump into Cecil.” It drove the viewers absolutely insane; they loved Juno, all of them, for no other reason than he looked so different from the other Kanagawas that his sudden appearance in Kanagawa streams and meetings was a sensation. According to Rita there were entire forums dedicated to his appearances, and folks would stampede bars to catch a glimpse of him if he happened to make an appearance. It was honestly flattering.

“Well,” Valentin said, finally. “I suppose I should congratulate you on a con well executed. But you do realize that we’ll have to keep up the act around the rest of the family?”

Juno shrugged. “I’ve done worse for them,” he said.

Valentin smiled, and it was nearly a genuine thing but his teeth really were sharper than they should have been. Juno firmly shoved the thought of them biting into his lower lip out of his mind. “You’re far more clever than they give you credit for, my dearest Cai,” he said. “I’d almost call you a shrewd businesswoman in your own right, but that almost isn’t right to describe you.” He shrugged, and stepped away from the bed. “I suppose I’ll find out for myself.”

Juno bit his tongue against a summons back, suddenly disliking that Valentin was leaving, just like that, but then Valentin stopped in the doorframe and looked back, eyes glittering under his lashes. “If you change your mind, dearest,” he purred, “I’ll be waiting for you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were some things that Juno Steel, private eye, simply wasn’t able to accomplish by himself. Not without someone rich and powerful backing him up, keeping him out of prison so he could actually do the right thing, as opposed to the sort of right thing badly.
> 
> Once it had been the HCPD, but then that had… ended. Now it was the Kanagawas, who were, quite honestly, almost better than the HCPD, because at least they were honest about the fact that they were corrupt all the way through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: this chapter contains mentions of violence and murder. also, bedsharing. also, a complete throwing away of all continuity related to the juno steel arc and a complete reversal of what shit is like in oldtown, because, plot, that's why.

After the wedding, Juno didn’t have much time for his honeymoon. Which was just fine with him, honestly, since curling up in that big bed either alone or with Valentin Clay (who didn’t seem much interested in him since he’d revealed that the marriage license was faked) didn’t seem exactly like Juno’s idea of fun. Even if he maybe couldn’t get the smell of Clay’s perfume out of his head.

No, he had bigger fish to fry. Like the looming finale of his stream, for which he had half a plan and absolutely zero ideas on how to execute. Cecil, bless his twisted little heart, was absolutely zero use, but at least he had better ideas than digging a deep hole to bury himself in— which was advice Juno was seriously considering taking, at this particular moment.

“So, Juju.”

“Don’t call me that.”

Cecil just laughed and waved his hand at Juno, dismissive. “You’ve been stirring up the cops on the street for the last how long? Season and a half? Stringing them along on your merry goose chase while you do whatever it is you want to do— the audience is expecting a thrilling conclusion here.”

“I know that.” Juno said, and leaned back in his chair. “You know them better than me, Cecil. What are they looking for?”

Cecil leans forward, resting his chin on his metal hand and wiggling the only remaining flesh fingers in Juno’s direction. “Haven’t you been reading the reviews, Junebug?” He grins, serrated teeth glinting in the reflections off the Camera Men. “In the eyes of our audience you’re a paragon of justice. Unafraid to do whatever it takes to keep our city safe. You’re a hero.”

“A regular Andromeda. The nicest thing I’ve ever done on-camera is rescue that lady’s cat that one time.”

“And it was a defining character moment!” Cecil pouted a little. “Also, you totally broke all those innocent people out of prison that _one time_.”

Juno decided not to mention that most of that was an unnamed contact whose name he absolutely never wanted mentioned on Kanagawa airwaves _ever_ , but at least there was a thought cooking in his head now about another little problem he had.

“Look, all I’m saying is the audience sees you as good, hm? You’ve got all the fixings to be a real hero. And what do heroes do besides help the weak and helpless?”

“God, do we have to deal with this action movie jargon, Cecil, just tell me what’s on your mind.”

Cecil grinned. “They fight bad guys,” he said, and Juno blinked.

“Huh,” he said, and a smile started to grow on his face. “You’ve got a point there, Cecil.”

 

* * *

 

There were some things that Juno Steel, private eye, simply wasn’t able to accomplish by himself. Not without someone rich and powerful backing him up, keeping him out of prison so he could actually do the right thing, as opposed to the sort of right thing badly.

Once it had been the HCPD, but then that had… ended. Now it was the Kanagawas, who were, quite honestly, almost _better_ than the HCPD, because at least they were honest about the fact that they were corrupt all the way through.

Min might have thought that Croesus’ death would give her the control she needed to rein Cecil back in, but he proved too damn popular with the audience for her not to give him a platform, and then in order to keep Juno around and off Cecil’s stream he needed his own show, and, well. Juno had funding. His funding was _the mob_ , but hey. He kept on doing his detective stuff, albeit without his usual cohort, and they kept him out of prison. It was a good deal.

A _better_ deal was what he was getting right now— a chance at fulfilling a promise he’d made years before, before Min came with the news that Croesus was dead and she needed him to find out who’d done it. Everything he’d been through in the last four years— the mob, the streams, the false wedding to a man who wouldn’t even look at him— would be worth it if it meant he could kill the case of Annie Wire’s death for good.

Juno was never clear on exactly what happened; he’d been in the middle of making sure local PI Alessandra Strong got off his trail, and he’d thought that the case had died like every other murder case that had befallen Oldtown. The officer in charge had brought in Juno, and Mick, and Sasha, but had let them all go pretty quickly when it became clear he was only dragging out the interrogation so he could be paid overtime. So they went home.

But something happened that meant Mick was brought in and Annie’s case was suddenly reopened, and _left open_ . Something about Mick Mercury rubbed the cops the wrong way; more likely he’d done something to Mayor Pereyra that they’d found _personally affronting,_ and they wanted him brought in.

The only thing personally affronting about Mick Mercury, Juno had always thought, was his terrible taste in drinks.

But no matter. Mick was a friend, the only one with the courage to smack Juno across the face and tell him he was being an idiot when he fell into a shame spiral. He wasn’t capable of hurting anyone, least of all his best friend’s younger sister. If Juno could do something to help, well, he would.

If he hadn’t been in the Family, he would have asked Alessandra for help. But he _was_ in the Family, and his job was on stream for everyone to see. Scripted, yes, staged occasionally, yes, edited in post to make certain moments more dramatic, absolutely, but Alessandra was engaged. Cockroach of Mars or not, she didn’t deserve to have her personal life put on blast. So Juno worked alone now, but he’d learned to puppetmaster in his time with the family. This last season had been a rigamarole in trying to get the patrols to increase, just slightly, just enough for this season finale.

It didn’t hurt that Cecil had managed to secure Juno a case of a couple of dirty cops (dirtier than usual, really) roughing up some young kids. Viewers hated watching atrocity. Wouldn’t do anything about it themselves, of course, but they hated watching it. It was the perfect set-up for a final message.

Juno didn’t know where Mick was hiding out, but if he knew him he’d be trying to catch Juno’s season finale any way he could. If Juno could get the timing right, if the cops that were meant to be on patrol were actually on patrol, he could send the cops a last message and give Mick enough time to get the fuck out. Mick was smart enough to know when Juno was giving him an out— at least, Juno thought he was. Hopefully he was paying attention.

Juno was, ostensibly, staking out a club. He had two Cameramen staking out his car (“for more natural angles, Junie, it’s all about the framing, you know!”) and two of the Family’s guards hiding in his trunk, just for backup. For drama, he was alone in the car, watching the club’s doors to see who was coming in and going out.

Cecil was feeding him a steady stream of bullshit into his earpiece, and Juno only had to grunt occasionally and bullshit answers since the viewers couldn’t hear what Cecil was saying. It was all set-up like a scripted detective series, but Juno had always been better when working alone— or, with a stream of nonsense in his ears. It wasn’t the voice he was used to, but it was enough of a substitute that he could concentrate.

“Hold on,” he said, and Cecil paused expectantly. “That’s an HCPD badge alright. They must be meeting someone here.”

It wasn’t Khan, thank Andromeda; if Juno had seen Khan come out of a club run by a rival Kanagawa syndicate he would have stuck his gun in his own mouth first. But there were certainly two other high-up HCPD officers approaching, one with a handlebar mustache straight out of an old Earth silent flick and another who Juno maybe recognized as some asshole who’d beat him up before he’d found himself Cameramen and bodyguards.

“Think they’re meeting someone for a cup of coffee?” Juno asked. “Don’t answer that.”

The door to the club opened and— Juno’s heart stuttered in his chest. There they were. Timaeus Trig, one of Khan’s best and brightest lieutenants, who was so paranoid they were keeping Annie Wire’s case open long past its expiration date. Their gaze swept over the road nervously as another officer stepped out behind them.

“That’s our guy,” Juno muttered, to himself. The guy the viewers thought was the baddie was Trig’s friend, whose name Juno had already forgotten, but Juno’s eyes were only on Trig. With Trig out of the way the other cops would be too spooked to keep Annie’s case open for much longer.

“And… action,” Cecil whispered, gleeful, and Juno shoved open the passenger door of the Ruby and dropped to the street below.

 

* * *

 

Juno Steel tried to make it a habit of not killing people, if at all possible. Or at least, he _had_ tried to, in the days before the Family. Cecil and Min believed that every shocking death was equivalent to a hundred new viewers, and so no matter how hard Juno had tried he’d sort of been forced to get used to murder. And, anyway, he made it a point to only kill the people who deserved it.

He still hated the sight of blood, but there were other ways of killing people that didn’t involve blood. Sniping was usually the way to go, but this was a season finale, according to Cecil, and there needed to be a dramatic confrontation. Juno Steel, hero of the streets and all that, taking on four dirty HCPD officers single-handed. And shooting point-blank resulted in blood, everywhere. Juno couldn’t faint on live stream.

Well, he could. Might sell the twist ending better.

But he had other ideas.

 

* * *

 

“That could have been better,” Cecil mused. “But I think it got the job done.”

Juno gritted his teeth as Constenza poked and prodded at his chest. “What happened after the cameras went dark?” he asked. “I couldn’t see it, but I heard a lot of yelling.”

“There was a lot of yelling,” Cecil said, glowing. “Apparently the one who shot you thought his gun was set to stun, so when you stopped breathing he panicked. Then, of course, he didn’t know what to do, because one of his colleagues had been garroted in front of him— seriously, that was viciously done, Junebug, I’m so proud of you— and the other officers were yelling at him, and he eventually turned the gun on himself but it turns out he knocked it into stun mode in his panic so he’s mostly conked out in an alley next to a dead guy, which is the shot we’re going to use in the credits scene I think.”

“Sounds like a trip,” Juno said.

There was the sound of running footsteps somewhere outside and Clay came bursting through the doors. “Cai!” he gasped, and flung himself at Juno.

“Watch the ribs!” Juno said, but Clay ignored him in favor of wrapping himself around Juno’s upper body like a sewer rat, lips pressed to the side of Juno’s neck as he spoke.

“I was watching the cam footage and it cut out before I saw you get back up. I was so worried about you!” Clay said and pulled back to press kisses to Juno’s face. He studiously avoided Juno’s lips, Juno noticed, kissing nose and cheeks and jaw and forehead instead. But when he pulled back Juno spotted what looked like genuine concern and fear in his eyes, and Juno allowed himself one moment of remorse for having worried Clay.

“I’m fine, Valentin,” he said. “Just a little bruising on my ribs from the force of the impact. No lasting damage.”

Valentin opened his mouth to respond or perhaps protest, but Cecil shooed him back. “We need to talk business now, Mx. Clay. No room for you here.”

Juno tried to shoot Valentin an apologetic look, but it seemed he was refusing to meet Juno’s eyes. “Of course, Cecil. Only — dont keep him too long, please? He ought to rest after such a harrowing finale.”

“Of course,” Cecil said, with a dismissive wave. “Now, Juno, about next season…”

Juno was distracted from whatever it was Cecil was saying by the sight of Valentin Clay backing from the room. Anyone looking at his face quickly would think that was concern on his beautiful face, but Juno caught the faintest glimpse of calculation in his eyes as he turned away, and he knew it couldn't mean anything good.

Or maybe it did. It was hard to tell, with his not-husband. Which was probably just the way Valentin liked it.

 

* * *

 

When Juno returned to his room that night it was to find Valentin sitting at the desk he had shoved against the window, a pair of specs perched near the end of his nose. He hesitated, uncertain of where they stood— sure, Valentin had rushed in after the finale had occurred to check on him, but they hadn't seen each other since their not-wedding night for longer than a passing in the hall. It could have all been for the cams, a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the happy couple.

If that was it, then Valentin was a better actor than Juno had given him credit for.

But he didn't have very long to wonder, because the door shut behind him with a bit of a bang (all the doors slammed in the house for dramatic emphasis) and Valentin looked up at him. "Ah, Cai," he said, and pulled his specs off his nose. "You're back."

"All clear," Juno said, with a wry smile. "Docs didn't want to keep me too long. Something about my bedside manner rubs them the wrong way."

Valentin barely smiled. "I'm sure you're just as charming to everyone you know."

"..." Juno folded his arms. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking on my wife, of course." Valentin rose from his seat and Juno realized, belatedly, that he was dressed only in a fancy crushed velvet shirt and a thin pair of sleep pants. There was a floral jacket draped over the back of Juno's desk chair that must have been shed at some point in the warm night. "We didn't have a moment to ourselves in the immediate aftermath of your finale."

"Seemed like enough of a moment to me. Seemed like plenty of moments."

Valentin sighed. "Do you accept anyone caring about you in the slightest?"

Juno thought of Rita, who likely didn't know a thing about his being alright after the finale, and internally grimaced. "I do, but you have to be really dogged about it."

Valentin snapped his fingers. "Again, dearest?" He shook his head. "Must you be the wittiest in the room?"

"The only other thing I have going for me is my excellent shooting, and I mean that in all sincerity." Juno winced as he started to shrug his coat off, and Valentin immediately stepped forward.

"Let me help, Cai," he said, softly, and Juno swallowed. "I may not be able to do much for you, but I can do this."

There was still feet of space between them but suddenly it felt cavernous instead of reassuring. Juno swallowed and nodded his affirmation. Valentin moved to stand behind him, long fingers closing around his upper arm and guiding him to lift, gently. Juno let Valentin guide the coat off his arms, wincing when he pulled too hard (earning him an apologetic noise, which he brushed off with a grunt) and moving to undo his buttons when the coat was gone.

“Cai.” Juno looked up to see Valentin’s eyes, huge and open for the first time in the month of their marriage. His hands fell away from his shirt, and Valentin’s replaced them.

This was nearly too intimate, but Juno couldn’t find it in him to argue. Valentine carefully pushed Juno’s shirt down his arms, and his eyes flickered down to the bruises over Juno’s ribs, the bandage pressed over the three stitches where the gun had grazed him.

“I’m okay,” Juno said, unsure why it was so important to reassure his not-husband that he was fine. “No lasting damage.”

Valentin said nothing, just shifted so he was behind Juno and began to guide him towards bed with a hand on the small of his back. “You need sleep,” he said, as Juno opened his mouth to argue. “You had a long day today and you need _rest_ , not to go straight into cooking up your next mad scheme.”

Juno wanted to protest but his eyes _were_ drooping. Killing a man really did take it out of a lady. “Fine,” he grumbled. “But you have to wake me up in five hours, alright, Min’s going to want to talk when she sees the footage from tonight.”

He didn’t understand why there was a short silence after his words until the hand on his back retreated slightly. “I suppose that means I’m staying, then?” Valentin’s voice was partially a tease, partially a genuine question. “Unless you’d like to take that back.”

Juno thought for a moment, hesitating with a dismissal on the tip of his tongue. But to hell with it. One night wouldn’t make a difference, and he did just film a finale and hopefully save his childhood best friend’s ass. “Yeah, stay, alright.” He lowered himself carefully onto the edge of the bed and swung himself around to lay on his side. “No funny business, alright?”

There was a soft chuckle, the sound of rustling fabric, and then the bed dipped as Valentin lowered himself onto it. “Wouldn’t dream of it, detective,” he murmured. “Sleep well, Juno.”

Juno was half-asleep before he registered the name that Valentin wasn’t supposed to know, by which point he was too tired to ask about it. He resolved to ask in the morning, but when he opened his eyes, ten hours after he’d fallen asleep to the sound of Min knocking on his door, the bed next to him was empty, and all traces of Valentin Clay had been wiped from the room like he’d never been there at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, at one point, plotting out the dramatic fight scene: wait what if i just... alluded to it?
> 
> anyway tune in next week for the grand? finale


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one seemed to notice or care that Valentin had slipped out of the Kanagawa mansion without anyone knowing about it, least of all Juno. It set off big warning bells in Juno’s head that only grew louder when weeks passed with no sign of his not-husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELP HERE IT IS LAST CHAPTER TWO DAYS LATE ONLY CAUSE I'M A DUMMY FEATURING MORE ART BY PINE THANKS PINE

No one seemed to notice or care that Valentin had slipped out of the Kanagawa mansion without anyone knowing about it, least of all Juno. It set off big warning bells in Juno’s head that only grew louder when weeks passed with no sign of his not-husband.

All Min wanted to know was when to expect the next season of Juno’s show, which he was absolutely not stalling on telling her, no siree. And he was absolutely  _ not _ stalling on telling her by sneaking out of the Kanagawa manor for a “business meeting” that was actually meeting Alessandra Strong for a drink, and in the process “accidentally” bumping into Rita while waiting for her.

Alessandra was already on the street corner as he rounded it, leaning against the wall with her comms about three inches from her face and a squint in her eyes. Last time they’d seen each other he’d goaded her into punching him and then she kissed it better, which would have been more fun if they hadn’t been on camera, but she was a good PI all the same. He had his systems set up to forward all his work to her and in thanks she paid Rita, which was a good deal, in his opinion.

“Well, well, Detective Steel,” Alessandra said, startling him from internal monologue. “Seems the rumors of your death are greatly exaggerated. Maybe they should be calling you the Cockroach.”

“Very funny,” Juno groused, but he allowed the amicable punch with only the smallest wince. “You oughta keep that title for a while longer, cause I still don’t know how Rita’s going to—,”

"MISTAH STEEL!" Juno heard behind him, and he was just quick enough to turn around before the source of the voice hit him, opening his arms just in time to catch Rita as she launched herself at him.

"Hey, Rita," Juno said. "Speak of the devil— fancy seeing you here."

He set her back on her feet so he could get a better look at her. She seemed like she was doing well enough— she was wearing an older dress but a new coat, and someone must have given her style advice because her lipstick looked quite flattering. He made a note to ask her about it later.

"I was so worried about you!" Rita said. "I've been watching your streams you know, ever since the very first one, and it cut to black right before the gunshot went off and then Mistah Clay went on air saying you'd died and I was freaking out, you can ask Sasha, I had no idea what happened!"

Juno earned himself another punch and winced. "Yeah, sorry, Rita. I needed a break from the public life for a while, so Cecil and I came up with that twist to drive the ratings up next season's premiere. I should have commed you after to give you the inside scoop."

"Well, now that I know you're okay I sure am excited for next season! I just couldn't stop myself from worryin', ya know? So does the whole city think you're dead right now?"

"Except them, yeah," Juno said. "Well, them and Alessandra. You remember Rita, right Strong?"

"Sure," Alessandra said, eyes softening around the edges, and held out a hand for Rita to clasp. "That's a nice coat you’ve got."

"Aw, thanks!" Rita said, and she went all blushy. "Agent Wire bought it for me the last time she dropped in for coffee sayyyyyyy you are a real PI, right Miss Strong? And you really were a soldier?"

"Rita," Juno groaned, but Alessandra only chuckled in fond amusement.

"Yes, ma'am, I was indeed a soldier. I can show you the brands to prove it if you prefer."

"Maybe later," Rita said. "I was just checkin cause a fake Dark Matters agent swung by the old office looking for Mistah Steel and he got real flirty with me and I didn't tell him anything about anything but he left me his card and told me he had a job for you if you ever got back—"

"A fake Dark Matters agent?" Juno interrupted.

"Ladies, let's take this conversation indoors and off the streets," Alessandra said. "I know a seedy joint on the other side of town. Rita, let me buy you a drink."

"Just Rita?" Juno said. "Not me?"

 

* * *

 

"He had the glasses," Rita said, stirring her cocktail aimlessly. "The special issue ones. And the uniform fit him— very well. But his voice was all wrong so I commed Sasha and she told me she'd never heard of him! Can you believe it?"

"Rita, I'm a part-time Kanagawa. I'll believe anything. You get a name from him?"

"Called himself Rex Glass." Rita said, and she handed over the card.  _ Rex Glass, occultist _ , it read on the front, and on the back was a drawing of a shark wearing a crown and a pair of extremely cheap looking sunglasses, with ink blood dripping from its teeth as it chomped on a squid (okay, so maybe the ink blood on the shark’s teeth was just ink) and a crude drawing of a shocked-looking seagoat behind the shark’s tail. Juno would give her a raise if she was still working for him. 

“You didn’t tell him anything?” Juno said, looking back up at her.

“Nope! Notta thing.” Rita sighed dreamily. “He was so pretty, boss, and his cheekbones! Uh! They coulda cut  _ diamond _ ! Anyway what was it you were gonna ask me?”

“Rita,” Juno said, and looked at Alessandra. “I think I got a way to break Cass out of Hoosegow.”

“ _ Oooooooooooh _ ,” Rita said, and the sound continued for several more moments. Alessandra rolled her eyes fondly. “What sort of a plan, boss?”

“Possibly illegal?” Juno leaned forward. “Definitely involving hacking?”

“Awww, no guns?”

“I’ll take you shooting, Rita,” Alessandra said. Juno rolled his eyes less fondly. 

Rita giggled and blushed a little. “‘Kay, boss, when do we start?”

 

* * *

 

Juno was the only one to go back to the old office, wanting to grab a couple things before inevitably making his way back to the Kanagawa mansion. And it was safer for Rita if she did her work in a location that wasn’t here, just in case the Kanagawas managed to catch wind of her.

Not that they would. Rita was the best there was. Good enough to nearly completely dissuade Juno from attempting to figure out how her phone worked so he could call Sasha. Rita had said Sasha was on “speed dial”, whatever the fuck that was. Juno eventually gave up on trying to work any of it and just banged on the top of the desk until the screens turned on.

Sasha took an especially long time to answer, and sounded distracted as she said, “Rita, dear, could you give me about twenty minutes?”

“Sure she can,” Juno replied, and Sasha let out a little gasp.

“Juno?!” she said. “Juno you— Are you alright? What’s happened, why are you calling?”

“Bruised ribs, thanks for asking,” he replied. “I can’t talk long. I just wanted to tell you— it’s done.”

There was a long silence. And then Sasha exhaled, and he could hear the smile in her voice as she said, “He’s dead?”

“Dead and burned, from what I heard,” Juno replied. “Case is closed. For good. If Mercury’s smart he’ll be halfway to Pluto right now, hitching a ride out of the system altogether.”

“Thank you,” Sasha says. “Thank you, Juno.”

“Don’t mention it.” He paused. “Seriously, don’t. It was a major risk what I just did. I’m taking half a season off just to recover from it.”

There was a snort and then a sigh. “Are you almost finished with the Kanagawas?” she asked. “I’m sure you had your reasons for joining the company, but it seems like you’ve lost it in the shine of the lights.”

Juno opened his mouth to protest and then shut it again. Damn her, but Sasha was right. It had taken him over a year to get an inkling of what had happened to Cass, and three seasons to get Mick out of his jam. He didn’t have to like it, but he had gotten lost in the glamour of it. The  _ importance. _ The feeling  _ needed. _

He needed out, is what he needed.

“Almost,” he said, gruff. No need for Sasha to know she was right about something. “Just one more loose end to tie up, and then I’m cutting ties.”

“Mm. With or without your new husband?”

“Hey!” Sasha laughed, and Juno felt a smile cross his face that he was glad she couldn’t see.

“Just be careful, okay? Would hate to hear that you did actually die on the end of a Kanagawa reality special.”

“I make no promises, Sasha.”

Juno hung up on her before she could make another smart remark and headed for the door to his office.

The moment he was inside, though, he could tell that something was off. Something had been moved around his office, someone had been here, and Juno would lay money on it having been Rex Glass, occultist, while Rita had been distracted by something or other.

Surely he wouldn’t have been interested in  _ taking _ anything, right? Juno didn’t believe in any of that supernatural shit (Croesus had, which made living in the mansion all the more weird) so there wasn’t anything Glass would have wanted. Right?

The only thing to do was to tear the whole place apart to see if anything had been taken.

His comms crackled to life again with Rita’s voice filtering through: “— and wouldn’t you know this is just like that break-out scene in  _ Ill Met By Moonlight _ , have you ever seen that Miss Strong??? I mean it was a dream sequence but I still get all shivery when I remember how the General looked with all that blood on his mouth. ‘Course, that was also not done by hacking, which is done, by the way, so hopefully Miss Kanagawa figures out what’s up and heads out—,”

“Rita,” Juno says, “sorry, I know you’re flirting via obscure soap opera references—,”

“It’s not obscure, you watch  _ Ill Met By Moonlight _ too and you don’t know anything about my streams—,”

“Shut up, Rita.” Juno stuck his light between his teeth and shoved hard on the cabinet near the window. “Did you take your eyes off Rex Glass for even a moment?”

“Weeeeeeeell, if I’m being honest boss yes I did but it was just to look up his ID and run facial recognition on him because somethin’ real fishy was up with it—,”

“So he could have gotten into and out of my office, is what I’m hearing.”

“Well yeahhhhhhhhh if you look at it like that, but I did turn some stuff up from Brahma which you know—,”

Juno paused. “You shouldn’t be able to have anything on Brahma, Rita.”

“I KNOW that’s why it was so weird! It’s the only thing that ever went public about the whole New Kinshasa thing, only for a blip but I found it, a tiny tiny wanted ad for someone who looked an awful lot like HUHHHHHHHHH, now that I think about it you should see this too, boss.”

“The hell do you mean, Rita,” Juno said, but the screen above his desk popped up and displayed whatever it was Rita wanted him to see and his mouth went dry. 

It was mostly in Brahmese, but Juno could pick out some things it said, and there was no mistaking the picture. Even fuzzy with age and from being pieced back together on some Outer Rim Wayback machine, he’d know those sharp cheekbones anywhere.

“This is—,”

“Rex Glass, uh-huh, boss.”

What he didn’t understand was the downward turn to Valentin Clay’s face, the fire in his eyes. This was a man with no mask, caught in a moment of pure anger— where was he?

Juno found himself wanting to meet the man named in the article called Peter Nureyev and felt a little sick. “Get rid of that, Rita. Just make sure Cass gets out.”

“If you’re sure, Boss.”

Juno had overturned everything else in his office, but it wasn’t until he opened the drawers to his desk that he found anything. There was a false bottom in the second drawer, which he used as an extra pen storage space (look, it would be the first place a thief with any brains would look for valuables, it was smarter to bait and switch) but the false bottom had been placed back in badly. 

At least if Glass had taken anything it was only some shitty tourists pens— but when Juno pried the false bottom up, there was nothing missing. Nothing missing, but something new was there. A passport, and a letter in an envelope addressed to  _ My dearest Cai _ . Juno took the letter first and opened it.

 

_ Love, _

_ I booked us for a delayed honeymoon. Take the passport to the nearest station and buy yourself a ticket to Mnemosyne. Find the Penumbra Hotel and when the concierge asks if you have a preference tell him to put you in N-3. It’s a smoking section, so bring your smoking jacket, if you will. _

_ xxx _

 

No signature. No name. Juno pulled the passport out of the drawer and flipped it open. The picture in it was his, but the name was neither Cai Kanagawa nor Juno Steel.

_ Dahlia Rose _ , it read, and in the small section where it gave a marital status, it read  _ Divorced _ .

Juno flipped the passport shut and looked out the window at the artificial moonlight.

“Rita,” he said. “I have one more thing I need you to do.”

 

* * *

 

The concierge at the Penumbra Hotel gave him a wink and a beckon when Juno gave him the room number. Hesitantly, Juno followed the person as they led him up and down winding halls, past rows of rooms that roared and some that spat water and worse at his feet as they passed. The door to room N-3 was plain and simple, and the gold paint on the number was peeling as the Concierge stuck his key in the door.

“Here you are, Ms Rose,” the concierge said. “Watch the closet, it bites.”

“Thanks?” Juno said, but the concierge was gone, and the door was swinging open, and Valentin Clay was reclining on the bed with a book in his hands. The light of the lamp by the bedside lit his face with a warm glow, and Juno froze in the doorway, breath caught in his throat.

Valentin looked up and smiled, a smile that was not very Valentin at all. “Dahlia,” he said, in a voice rough as though he himself had been smoking. “Shut the door behind you, dear, I don’t want any eavesdroppers.”

“I thought this hotel was meant to be classier than that,” Juno said, but did as he was told. “So who are you?”

“Duke Rose, your ex-husband. Don’t you remember me?”

Juno sighed. “Yes,” Juno said. “We were married for seven years, and we were also never married even though we had a wedding, and we have only known each other for two months and in that time you have learned entirely too much about me and I have learned nothing at all about you. Who is Peter Nureyev?”

Valentin— Duke— whatever his name actually was rose from the bed. The mask he wore around his eyes slipped away and there was a man standing before Juno Steel. A young man, younger than Juno himself, but merely a man all the same.

“Peter Nureyev,” Nureyev said quietly, “is a boy who escaped from a planet who called him its hero.”

“So it’s your real name.”

“No.”

“ _ Goddamnit _ —”

“I mean to say,” Nureyev said, “that it is the name of my past, which I have long left behind, along with that name, which is the name that makes me a wanted man on seven systems.”

“So it’s your legal name.”

“According to the criminal justice system, yes.”

Juno exhaled. “You could have just lied about that. So why are you trusting me with this?”

Nureyev shrugged, a fluid motion, as he turned away from Juno’s gaze. 

“Your criminal empire,” Juno said. “Is it real? Or is it as fake as the name Valentin Clay?”

“The empire is real,” Nureyev said. “Brahma— the fact of my escape from it— is real. Valentin Clay is real, or at least he used to be more real than Peter Nureyev.” He scrutinized Juno for a long moment. “His ambitions are real.”

Juno’s blood grew cold. “I’ll take the crown myself before I hand Hyperion City over to a new Min Kanagawa.”

“Those are not my ambitions, Detective.” Nureyev’s smile grew sharp around the edges. “There are many thing you don’t know about me, but rest assured, I’m no Min Kanagawa. Besides,” he added, “that crown is yours. I would never dream to steal the rule of your city from you.”

“I don’t want it,” Juno said, and turned to face the lone window, facing out over a starry courtyard. “I don’t want that crown, chair of the board, the family— any of it. I had a good life before all this… all this bullshit went down. It was just meant to be until I found out who killed Croesus, and then it was until I could get Cass off Mars.” Juno thought of Rita, still going into the office every day, referring people looking for him to Alessandra Strong. 

There was a long silence. Juno heard the lightest of footfalls behind him. “Don’t you think you could do more good work for them— for your city— at the head of a criminal empire?” Nureyev said. “You could make them do anything you wanted. You could make them not hurt children, or not hurt animals, or take care of elderly people. You could root out the corruption in the HCPD. One man alone can do a lot of good, Juno, but imagine yourself as a Dame. The Dame.”

Juno looked out into the expanse of stars around them, doing his best to remember to not look down. Nureyev’s cologne surrounded him on all sides. It was… a tempting offer.

“Think of what we could do together,” Nureyev said, quietly. A hand landed on his shoulder, nails digging in; Juno shivered despite the fact that he could barely feel the pressure under his jacket. “A Dame and his Angel. Imagine it.”

“I don’t know,” Juno said, quietly. “I don’t want the Family, or the chair of the entertainment company.” It was like a broken record at this point, but it was a relief to say it aloud, everything he hadn’t been saying for four years. He wanted out. He wanted his dumb office and rich ladies looking for their cats and to ruin his own life by sleeping with all the wrong people and to yell at Rita watching soaps at work.

But Nureyev…

“And I don’t care,” Juno said, willing himself to shake off Nureyev’s hand but feeling frozen, “if you’re not Min Kanagawa. I won’t be your Moll, or— no. I’ve put too much work into the Family to be demoted to your consort.” 

“Of course not,” Nureyev said. His hand slid down Juno’s arm until it could snake around his chest, Nureyev hugging him from behind. When he spoke next Juno could feel lips brushing against his ear. “You shouldn’t be a trophy to stand around and look pretty. You ought to be where you belong— on your streets. With your people.” That damned  _ smile _ curled against Juno’s ear. 

Juno turned in Nureyev’s hold until they were facing each other. This close, he could see the way the stars danced in Nureyev’s eyes, the soft smirk that graced his features. There were hints of Valentin Clay in him still, but this was the most genuine Juno had seen Nureyev since they’d first met each other at the end of the aisle.

“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do,” Juno said. “All I know is that Min has got to go. I have the evidence to get her out, that’s not the problem. From there… I’m not sure.”

“In order to do that you’ll need to go back to Mars,” Nureyev pointed out.

“Seems life won’t wait forever for me.”

“For us, Juno,” Nureyev said. “And life can wait for one night.”

There was an unspoken question in Nureyev’s eyes. Juno tipped his head up and Nureyev leaned down and kissed him.

If Juno had thought he was going to fall over when Valentin Clay kissed him at their wedding, it was nothing compared to the way Peter Nureyev kissed him in front of the window. Nureyev had clearly been holding back, had barely pressed their mouths together as Clay. Nureyev now was a little uncertain, a little hesitant, but the kiss was all the better for it. Life could wait for one night indeed, Juno thought, as he let his hands trail up Nureyev’s neck. Life could wait for the rest of eternity if it meant Juno could keep this.

“Wait,” he said, pulling away for a moment. “For us?”

Nureyev looked surprised. “You want to have this conversation now?”

“No,” Juno said, “though I do expect it at some point. I just— you left. And now you’re coming back.”

“It seems like we’re having this conversation now,” Nureyev sighed, and pressed a kiss to the underside of Juno’s jaw. “All right, yes, I left. I left you. Why do you think your passport says ‘divorced’?”

“Is it divorce if we were never married in the first place?” Juno said. “No, wait, stop, you’re distracting me. Why are you coming back with me?”

“I have a stake in this game now,” Nureyev said, against Juno’s neck. “A sizable one, if I do say so myself.” His hands slid down to Juno’s hips, gripped tight, stayed there. Possessive. He bit at Juno’s neck before saying, “I would hate to lose it because I wasn’t there to make sure it stayed safe.”

Juno wanted to ask what that stake was, but he felt Nureyev’s teeth in his neck again and thought, to hell with it all. “Fine, we’ll shelve the conversation,” he said.

“Glad you’re seeing sense, love,” Nureyev said, smile sharp against Juno’s pulse point, and pulled him in again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for everyone wondering what nureyev's plan was... sorry
> 
> for everyone wondering how rita was doing... she's perfect
> 
> ill met by moonlight is a fake soap with a full plot (thanks to alex and serj for agreeing to let me borrow our children for one of rita's infodumps) and if you want to hear about the dream sequence where the vampire general breaks his werewolf jewel thief lover out of prison message me on tumblr at citadelofswords
> 
> epilogue coming next week!


	4. epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the world's tiniest epilogue i'm so sorry but it's important

The first thing Juno Steel did, when he returned to Mars after an impromptu honeymoon, was tell Rita he needed her to replace a marriage license for him. 

The resulting scream could be heard across town. Literally, Juno heard it from the Spaceport.

The second thing he did was go back to his dingy office, replace the overturned cabinet, and hang Nureyev’s floral smoking jacket on the hook by the door.

Then he sat down, kicked his feet up on the desk, and waited for Rita to come in. Which she did, several minutes later, lipstick smudged and eyes wild.

“REALLY?!” she squealed, and flung herself fully into Juno’s lap.

“Hey, watch it, my ribs still haven’t fully recovered from my finale,” Juno said, but he was grinning a little bit too.

“Boss, this is the most romantic thing you’ve ever done— maybe I’ve ever seen, and you know I watched the entirety of  _ Ill Met By Moonlight _ and that rooftop confession scene was about the most  _ erotic _ thing that’s ever been put onto a livestream—,”

“Rita,” Juno said, “how do I turn those streams on?”

“Oh! It’s really not that difficult, you just have to press these keys and sayyyyyyy you’re not setting me up to get me in trouble for watchin’ in the office now are you?”

“No, Rita,” Juno said. “Pull up a chair. We’re in for a real treat from the Kanagawas tonight.”

He thought of Nureyev, on the other side of town, picking up the dropped threads of the case against Min Kanagawa, about to stride into her office and take her for all she was worth before disappearing to the stars again, leaving Hyperion to the dogs like Juno, Alessandra, and the less corrupt members of the HCPD. 

“You’re really not going to want to miss this one live.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "THAT'S IT????!?!?!" yeah im bad at writing action scenes ok sue me
> 
> but i'm still very very proud of this!!!! and i'm so pleased that i finished it!!!! so if you like it you should come talk to me on tumblr at citadelofswords -- i'm very bad at replying to messages but i do read them all!!!

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is actually three chapters and a very very tiny epilogue so look for them each monday this month!


End file.
